Stay With Me
by Demon and Angel
Summary: Naruto returns after his 3 year training with the Toad Sage with an ambition in mind and heart. Did Sasuke really want to kill him? Can Naruto get Sasuke back, or will he die trying? Does his teme still love him? Yaoi SasuNaru Mpreg
1. Chapter 1

_Angel: Okay, I couldn't take it anymore! I just had to satisfy my current obsession over SasukeXNaruto Yaoi pairing! I know! I'm sure I've said that I'll never ever do such a thing. I blame our friend James! He got me hooked! So I've got a stock of pictures and listen to my favorite love songs and I'm content with writing a story! Deal with it fans! I'm still a NaruHina fan all the way...but SasuNaru is just so sweet and cute and beautiful!_

**Demon: Don't forget to tell them I have nothing to do with this story!**

_Angel: *in a low voice* Demon had nothing to do with this story..._

**Demon: *camera pans over to Demon who is sitting in a corner curled up rocking back and forth* no no no no no no no no please don't hit me with the yaoi paddle...**

_Angel: I'll lead you to the inspiration of this quick fic...should only be a few chapters long...at the end. I hope my readers will enjoy this. This is my first yaoi and quite honestly...I'm nervous..._

Naruto ran through the village as hard as he could to the Hokage Tower. He skipped the stairs and climbed in through the window only to get hit on the head by Tsunade, scolding at him for being a baka. "Baa-chan, is it true? Sasuke was found nearby?"

Tsunade gasped. How could Naruto have found that out? She told Kakashi, Iruka, and Sakura to keep it quiet...there was no way for him to know about it...unless... "Who told you?"

Naruto met her eyes. "I heard it from a random jonin. But is it true? Was Sasuke close?"

The woman sighed. She knew of Naruto and Sasuke's relationship before Orochimaru's curse mark beckoned Sasuke away and tore the two of them apart. Naruto had left with Jirayia with the secret intention to find Sasuke and bring him back as the Sannin trained him. But with no such luck, Naruto may have returned back stronger and more mature, but deep inside the blonde's heart...the young love they had years ago still ached him and called for him to keep searching. Naruto grew up more because of Sasuke's decision.

She nodded. "Yes, he was seen close...but because of how dangerous he has become...the council has gone over my head and put a warrant on him."

Naruto's eyes darkened. "What warrant?"

Tsunade looked straight into the young man's eyes, knowing that the preceding words would pain him the most. "He's to be killed on sight."

At that moment, his eyes turned red and his skin began to burn. "What?"

"Naruto, look at me," Tsunade cupped his face into her hands and stared him down, "Control, you've been gone for three years, you must calm down now before I have ANBU here trying to kill you."

Naruto gritted his teeth and closed his eyes, inhaling sharply. He saw the red chakra gathering behind his eyelids and he focused on it. _'Go away!'_ In a matter of moments...he was calmer. He opened his eyes, being their same cheerful bright blue with a twinge of anger and sadness that he always carried since the day he left Konoha after Sasuke's disappearance. Knowing that Sasuke was still alive and not at home with him was hard enough, but to know that if any other ninja where to run across him and had the chance, he was to be killed. Naruto clenched his fists...he had to find Sasuke.

"Grandma Tsunade," Naruto growled, "Send me on a mission to find Sasuke...I must find him before anybody else can...maybe I can bring him back and then nobody will have to kill him."

"Naruto, you know I can't do that. I don't have the clearance to send you on a mission like that."

"Who else is going to bring Sasuke back! You know that the first person that will do anything to kill him would be Danzo! You have to send me!" The first tears that Naruto ever felt since the night after he left Konoha began to surface now. Tsunade felt a pang of guilt and pity. "Please! I have to find him! There had to be a reason to leave without telling me goodbye! I need to see him again!" He buried his face into her chest, sobbing. She felt shock and sadness run through her as this young man, who was barely 23, sobbing of lost and lonliness.

Naruto was remembering the few weeks before Sasuke disappeared, they were as close as they could get...some may say they were perfect.

*Flashback*

Naruto heard a knock at his door and he jumped at the suddenness of it. When he opened the door, he met the eyes of a smiling black haired man with a rose in his hand...and blood dripping from his palm and fingers. "Oh, Sasuke! Why did you hurt yourself...again?"

Sasuke laughed. "Hey, didn't I save your ass a bunch of times? What about that day you stabbed your hand a few years ago on the mission to the Wave?"

"I had a reason to!" Naruto playfully yelled, "I had to get that poison out of my body!"

"Oh..." Sasuke stepped in slowly, his eyes burning into Naruto's. Naruto took the same type of steps back as Sasuke made his. The door closed. "And what about those other times you either hurt yourself, or exhausted youself, or put yourself in danger without thinking...idiot." All the while, Sasuke stalked Naruto until trapping him against the wall.

Naruto smirked. "I could ask the same about you...teme." Naruto held the same kind of burning in his eyes. There was no other person who could stare Sasuke down than Naruto...his eternal rival...

The rose fell from Sasuke's hand onto the ground as he closed the distance between him and Naruto in one swift step, letting his arms pin the blonde to the wall as their lips connected. Little fights like that always fanned the flame that held their passion for each other. Naruto pulled on Sasuke's shirt to bring him closer, further deepening their kiss. Sasuke pulled away for a moment to meet his eyes. "Naruto..."

_Angel: end of chapter...I hope it's good...Demon keeps making fun of me and refuses to read it_


	2. Chapter 2

_Angel: Yes I left you guys hanging in the middle of the flashback...God I hope I'm doing okay with this story. I may make it longer...depends on me I guess. Well,I hope you are enjoying this so here is chapter 2_

_***_present day***

Tsunade grabbed Naruto's shoulders. "Naruto, listen to me. If I could control who I sent on missions, I would send you to bring Sasuke back...and pray that the both of you come back alive. I know how much Sasuke means to you and believe me, I don't want to see him gone either, it's killing you."

Naruto blinked, wiping his tears away, he began to remember the night Sasuke left the village. Naruto and the other guys had chased him. Gaara came to help them and diverted Kimomaru enough to let Naruto escape after Sasuke. They finally met up at the Valley at the End...

***flashback***

Naruto sprinted towards the bridge, where in the center, stood Sasuke. He wasn't watching Naruto, but from his stance, it was like he knew Naruto was there. Naruto stopped at the edge of the bridge, watching Sasuke. He held his stance taller than normal, usually he kept his hands in his pockets...this time his hands were resting on the back of his head in an aloof way. Naruto clenched his fists when his eyes glanced at the curse seal mark on his neck.

"TEME!" he almost screamed, "Why are you doing this!" Naruto struggled hard to avoid letting his tears out. Between the two of them, Naruto was the more emotional one. He wouldn't let Sasuke see him cry this time.

Sasuke turned around ever so smoothly it was almost scary. They both met eyes, Sasuke's eyes were red of the Sharingan. A sinister smile played on Sasuke's lips, it made Naruto's spine go cold. Never before had Sasuke smiled so darkly before...it frightened and angered him.

"ANSWER ME, TEME!"

Through the wind that blew from behind Naruto, causing Sasuke's hair and jacket to fly with it. His black hair became messy tossled by the wind. If it where a different time and place, Naruto would smile and kiss him. His ears caught the faint sound of Sasuke's laugh, starting low at first, then rising in malevolence. Naruto clenched his fists so hard he felt his nails dig into his skin, cutting through to his blood.

"Naruto-kun," Sasuke taunted in a dark sensual voice, "You can call me whatever you want, but there is one thing that remains the same." Then he vanished. Naruto gasped looking around quickly, trying to prepare himself for the blow. But Sasuke beat him to the punch...literally. "I'm stronger than you." Naruto felt the wind knocked out of him when Sasuke undercut him in the gut. He fell past the bridge and landed in the water.

Naruto fought against the current of the water...even though it was standing water, the waterfall he fell into was pushing him farther down. Finally, Naruto broke free from the current and jumped up on top of the water, applying the right amount of chakra to his feet to stand. He took a few cold breaths before looking up to the bridge. Sasuke was watching him, his arms crossed loosely over his chest. Naruto growled, "Sasuke!"

Sasuke hned and jumped down landing on the water perfectly. Naruto had to look away for the moment as Sasuke did so. Every movement he did was always so perfect in Naruto's eyes, he couldn't let his desires get in the way of stopping him. "What's wrong, Naruto-kun...turned on?"

"Shut up!" Naruto growled. He looked up slowly and met the eyes of his lover...the eyes of a warrior led astray. "Sasuke, you have to come home. Please, don't leave the village. Orochimaru isn't worth it! Itachi isn't worth it!" He paused for a moment, gathering his courage to speak the next words. "Don't leave me, Sasuke-kun!"

Sasuke was taken aback for a second, that was all Naruto needed. He threw his punch and nailed Sasuke in the face, knocking him back several meters. His body skidded over the water, leaving trails of splashes, which Naruto followed quickly. When he saw Sasuke land on the shore and lay there, Naruto made his leap and sat on his chest, swinging punches as hard as he could on Sasuke not really aiming for anything...just Sasuke. Naruto yelled every name that he ever called Sasuke and then some, letting his anger out.

Sasuke managed to kick Naruto in the back of his head and throw him off. Then he jumped back to his feet. He expected Naruto to be on him instantly, but he wasn't. Naruto was doubled over, growling louder and more animal-like. Sasuke suddenly felt a burst of strong, angry...no...raging energy. It was so strong, Sasuke was almost pushed back from the force. When he looked at Naruto, he saw this almost blinding, blood red chakra forming around him, molding around his body and then forming fox-like ears and a fox tail. When Naruto spun around to glare at him, his eyes were blood red and slitted, the whisker marks on his cheek were darker, bolder, and longer, his hands were almost claws. Sasuke took a step back, tensing himself, ready to fight. Naruto met his eyes with an uncontrollable rage, it almost matched Sasuke's.

"Sasuke," Naruto growled, "I won't let you leave!"

Sasuke chuckled. "Well then, if you're going to be like that, I may just have to kill you."

Naruto watched as the curse seal mark began to multiply and spread over his body, glowing a burning orange and black. Sasuke threw his head back, almost screaming in pain as the burning sensation ran through his body. His body turned bluish-grey following the burns, on his forehead formed two black lines crossing each other and his hair turned dark blue. His hands became claws and giant wings that resembled hands grew from his shoulders. Naruto growled at him, clenching his fists.

The fight began, swinging punches at each other, throwing each other into walls and under the water. Both proved their strength...and their anger. Naruto had to get Sasuke to stop what he was doing, he just had to. Sasuke's eyes were showing persistance...but Naruto knew that Sasuke wouldn't do this without an outside force. He had too much here in Konoha...he had his team, his village...and his secret lover. An ache formed in Naruto's chest after the fight had begun, he was pained to know that he had to almost kill Sasuke to bring him back to the village. It was going to kill him.

They both swung their punches and collided at the same time, propelling each other back across the valley. Naruto looked up into the sky...the clouds and setting sunlight...it was beautiful. On a normal day, before any of this ever happened...even before the chunin exams, they would have sneaked out of their homes and found each other in a meadow and laid in the grass, watching the clouds pass by over them. They would have talked and joked, then eventually made out just before the sun would leave the sky, leaving the world dark.

Naruto stood up. He knew that no matter what happened after this moment, nothing would ever be the same between them. Either way...Naruto knew one thing was for certain...

Sasuke stood up, grunting. He threw his hand back, holding his arm with his other hand as a chidori charged in his palm. Naruto growled as he subconsciously formed a rasengan in his hand. Both of them charged, screaming their battle cry.

"NARUTOOOOOOO!"

"SASUKEEEEEEEE!"

Their orbs of power met, mixing and exploding. But it didn't effect them other than throwing them back across the valley again. Naruto hit the wall hard and he gasped in pain, when he landed on his chest, he coughed blood out onto the rock. He opened his eyes to see Sasuke's feet in front of him, then his hand reaching under him. Sasuke grabbed the collar of his shirt and lifted him with no effort, pushing Naruto against the wall hard. Naruto grunted in pain, blood dripping from his lips. Another chidori was forming in Sasuke's hand and Naruto simply smiled. "S-Sasuke..."

"This is the end for you, Naruto-kun." He threw his punch just as the last three words slid out of Naruto's lips.

"I love you..."

Before Sasuke could recall his throw, his hand and chidori had already went through Naruto's chest. His blood covered his arm, trailing down to his body, staining his body...and his soul. Naruto's eyes closed as the dark red chakra left his body, he went limp in Sasuke's grip. Sasuke felt pain run through his body...and not physical pain. He hurried to lay Naruto down and pulled his arm out, looking at the damage he did. It didn't look good, Naruto wouldn't have survived that blow.

"Naruto?" Sasuke cupped his cheek. The rain began to fall, so it washed away the blood from Naruto's body and his hands. But Sasuke knew that the blood will never wash out of him. "Naruto, please, wake up." He laid his own forehead on Naruto's, feeling tears escaping his eyes for the first time in years. "Naruto! Open your eyes! Open your eyes damnit! You're stronger than this! I know you!" There was no response out of Naruto. Sasuke let out a scream of agony, realizing what he had done. "NARUTO!"

***present day***

Naruto looked out of the Hokage's window, watching the village run it's normal day. "Grandma, just send me on normal missions...I'll look for him during those missions. I'll investigate any lead I can find...anything."

Tsunade looked at Naruto...he surely had grown since leaving the village with Jirayia. Usually, Naruto would let his energy get to him and he'd yell it in his goofy way. But his voice was low and calm, his eyes were hard with determination. "Ok Naruto, I'll let you do that. But don't let this get the best of you."

Naruto looked at Tsunade, his eyes calm, but hard. "Very well, Tsunade."

_Angel: That was better than I thought. I reread it when I got to school today after typing it last night and I was thinking "oh my god! That was amazing" There were 3 songs that got me inspired:_

_Call Me by Shinedown_

_Careless Whisper by Seether_

_Dying for an Angel by Avantasia_

_I hope you liked this chapter._


	3. Chapter 3

_Angel: Well, apparently, Demon helped me a little bit last night with this story. We were talking about it all night before we went to sleep. Which shocked me because he said he wasn't going to help me at all with it._

**Demon: I had to changed the characters up a bit so that I could talk about it. You know this.**

_Angel: Yeah yeah I know. Anyhow, this story may be longer than I expected. I was just going to focus on Naruto, but then after talking to Demon about it, it might be best if I focus on Sasuke some as well, since parts of him will be different obviously. So enjoy._

Sasuke opened his eyes when he heard his name being called. He stared up at the ceiling of his room, remembering his dream...more like a memory. He was remembering the good times with Naruto, the special moments they shared in secrecy. He sighed sadly and stood up, rubbing his eyes. When he pulled his hands away, he stared at them for a while, remembering the blood that stained his hands three years ago. His heart ached and he closed his eyes, feeling tears welling up. He changed clothes to his black shorts and white open shirt with the purple rope belt that Orochimaru made him wear. He looked at himself in the mirror. His black eyes were still hard and cold ever since that day, his black hair was longer, and his muscles showed more now because of his training...not just the training Orochimaru put him through to kill Itachi...but the training he had secretly to kill Orochimaru. He was trying to find a way to control the curse seal during times of rage. He knew that the curse seal killed his chakra for the Sharingan. He wanted to be able to use the Sharingan without running him down so quickly.

He entered the room, seeing Orochimaru sitting at his lab table. He glowered at the back of Orochimaru's head, imagining that head rolling on the ground. His hand gripped the handle of his katana, sheathed away from sight.

Orochimaru turned around. "Ah, Sasuke-kun, did you spend too long mourning over Naruto still?"

"Shut up." Sasuke said flatly.

"Sasuke-kun, that part of you is dead. You earned the Mangekyo now because of his death. Let it go and focus on killing Itachi."

_'And killing you, Orochimaru-sama.'_ Sasuke nodded. "Hai, Orochimaru-sama. I'll be out training myself right now." He left the house and walked out into the sunlight. He squinted his eyes a bit, letting them adjust to the light from the dimness from inside. Orochimaru never liked much light in his lab. Sasuke let his eyes widen and he looked around in the meadow. He sighed, thinking about the times that he and Naruto spent training together...and romancing. He began his training, remembering Naruto again.

***flashback***

Sasuke was fallen on his back meeting the eyes of Naruto after being knocked down. In Naruto's hand was a kunai resting on the skin of his own neck. They both were panting, sweating in exhaustion. The rush they got from the sparring was exciting, it still flowed through their veins. Naruto's forehead was almost resting on his, he was so close...

Naruto closed the distance, slamming his lips into Sasuke's in a rough passionate kiss. Sasuke felt the kunai leave his skin and then he grabbed Naruto's shoulders and they flipped, Sasuke pinning him down in mid kiss. Their kisses became softer as the excitement subsided. Sasuke pulled away, meeting Naruto's eyes softly. They eyes danced brightly from the kisses they shared. It was so romantic. Sasuke cupped Naruto's cheek and kissed him again, softly and briefly, then he stood up. He held his hand out and Naruto took it as he helped him to stand.

"Sasuke...I'm not ready to go home yet. It's still light out here."

Sasuke chuckled. "Alright we'll just sit and talk."

Naruto smiled as he was led to a shady tree. They sat next to each other, still holding hands. Sasuke sighed, laying back against the tree his eyes closed. "Naruto, we've been keeping our attraction a secret from everybody else ever since it was there...what will happen when we want to keep it more than frustrated make-out sessions?"

Naruto gasped. Sasuke was right, because he was the last loyal member of the Uchiha clan, he was under contract of the Clan Restoration Act. Sasuke had to marry a woman and have children. And they both knew that Sasuke held no desire for women...Sakura and Ino made sure of that without knowing it. Naruto knew that Sasuke would want to move forward in their romance past their stage of kisses and hugs.

"I don't know, Sasuke," was all Naruto could mutter. He looked down at their hands, his tan hand in Sasuke's pale grip. When he looked up, his eyes were met with Sasuke's eyes. Sasuke looked concerned. "Don't worry about me, Sasuke. You need to worry about your duty to the village."

Sasuke sat on his knees and leaned in closer toward Naruto. "Naruto, I do worry about my duty to the village. But my priority is you. I know you don't like the idea of my having a child for my clan. I don't know how to make it work if I can't get attracted to a woman. You are the only person who can make me crazy." He smiled. "Who knows, maybe I'll let the Uchiha clan die with me."

***end flashback***

Sasuke leaned against a tree under the shade, his shirt gathered up around his waist giving his arms room to move without the restraint of the shirt sleeves. His knees were brought up to his chest, one arms wrapped around them. His other arm was reaching to his neck, where the curse seal rested. He touched it, feeling the tattoo-like bumps that made the shape of the seal. He felt anger fill him again, knowing that this seal tore him away from Naruto...and killed him.

Sasuke closed his eyes. _'I have to try again, I must control this.'_ He let the chakra fill him, then began to spread out over his skin, burning it's path. He grunted, hissed in pain. His fingers clenched and finally he let out a cry in pain when the final blow of burning chakra was delivered. He opened his eyes and looked down at his skin. It was still brownish in the sunlight...but it was a bit lighter today. Sasuke cocked his head curiously then activated the sharingan. He felt the chakra drain...but not as strongly as last time he tried. He smirked, hnning in amusement. "How interesting, maybe I can modify this curse seal to work to my liking. For a strange reason, I'm glad Orochimaru gave me this power. When this is finished, not only can I kill Itatchi, I can also kill that scum that made me kill Naruto."

He closed his eyes and canceled everything out. He felt his chakra close off and go dormant. Standing up, he slipped his arms back into his sleeves, pulling his shirt closed as much as he could. Looking up into the sky, he watched the clouds soar slowly. "Naruto-kun, I'm sorry I killed you. But I will look up to you when I descend into Hell for my sinful deeds." He took a deep breath in and began to walk towards Orochimaru's lab, becoming more stoic in each step.

***********in Konoha**********

Naruto looked at his bowl of piping hot miso ramen, his chopsticks in one hand. He couldn't bring himself to eat right now, not after Kakashi mentioned the previous Team 7 during the Kakashi Bell Test. When Naruto heard Sakura say Sasuke's name, he felt a dark sadness take over his victory rush.

He looked up at Iruka, who looked concerned. "You okay, Naruto?"

"I'll be fine, Iruka-sensei," Naruto opened his chopsticks and began to eat. It had been a while ever since he had Ichiraku Ramen. He felt his spirits lift just a little bit, but a cloud of sadness still hovered over him. _'I couldn't stop him, he struck me down and left me to die. But that's not the Sasuke I know. He wants to come home...he just needs me to be stronger to drag his ass back.'_ Naruto sighed, lowering his head more.

Iruka watched Naruto's slumped posture. He was depressed, that was for certain. Something was bothering Naruto, and Iruka might know what that something was. "You blame yourself for Sasuke...don't you?" Naruto looked up at him, his eyes wide in shock. "You're love for him didn't convince him to come back home." Naruto's jaw dropped. "I know about you and Sasuke. I know your secret."

Naruto was taken back by shock. "H-how did y-you find out?"

Iruka smiled. "Let's say that I learn a lot on my walks."

***flashback***

Iruka pushed his hands into his pockets and began walking the trail. After a long day of teaching young kids on basic ninja rules and concepts, a scenic walk will do him justice. He sighed, looking up at the sky...the sun was beginning to set and painted the sky gold and pink and purple. It truly was a beautiful sight to behold. He slowly passed through the busy part of the village and then came upon the Training Way, a calmer more isolated road where the ninja walk to their training fields. He passed by some of the more obvious training fields. Occasionally he'd find a former student training or a fellow colleague refining their techniques. Then he traveled deeper into the more isolated training fields, the ones that not many ninja use, but are still available.

He heard grunting and metal clanging. He smirked, knowing that somebody found the isolate field and was sparring. He followed the sounds until he stopped by a tree, seeing two of his most prestigious students...Uzumaki Naruto and Uchiha Sasuke. They both were sparring with their weapons, today seemed to be refining their kunai techniques. He watched their movements, so fluid, yet quickly and deadly. When one would strike, the other would block.

Finally Sasuke trapped Naruto against a tree and held the kunai at his neck. His free hand had grabbed Naruto's arm to pin him against the tree. They met eyes, panting hard. The next moment, Sasuke had thrown himself into a kiss, passionate and rough. Naruto moaned into it, grabbing Sasuke's hair and pulling him closer into the kiss.

Iruka's eyes widened at the sudden sensual moment. His students...the best in the class...are lovers...

***end flashback***

Naruto looked down, closing his eyes tightly. "I don't believe he left me...I don't know why he left, but it wasn't me."

Iruka smiled. "If you find him, maybe you'll find out why he left you behind." Iruka watched his best student and prankster hide his face in his hands. When his shoulders shook, Iruka took the boy into his arms and held him, rubbing his back. "You'll find him. I know you. You won't give up until you find him."

"He left me laying there to die! If it wasn't for Kyuubi and Kakashi rescuing me, I wouldn't be here!" He choked on a sob. "Sasuke wanted to kill me! I need to know why! I need to know if he still feels the same way about me he did three years ago!" He needed to know if his lover still loved him, nothing would stop him. Before Sasuke left, Naruto had wanted to become Hokage...and Sasuke encouraged it and pushed him to be stronger to fulfill his dream. But after Sasuke almost killed him and left the village, Naruto didn't find a reason to become Hokage anymore. There was nothing to push him toward that long-held dream. His dream to be the greatest Hokage was shattered the day he woke up from his coma and was told Sasuke left.

Iruka calmed Naruto down enough to hide him making a nuisance of himself. He smiled at Naruto, who was trying to force a goofy smile on his lips. "There's the Naruto I know."

Naruto looked up at Iruka. "Iruka-sensei...thank you." He smiled softly. "For always understanding me."

Iruka smiled. "I'm your sensei, I'll always support and believe in you." He ruffled Naruto's already messy blonde hair.

Just then, one of the Hokage's chunnin guards ran up. "Naruto-san! Tsunade-sama needs to see you right now! It's important!"

Naruto nodded and stood up. "Iruka-sensei...I'll pay you back when I get back." He took off toward the tower. The other guards let him in Tsunade's office and he entered. He saw Sakura and Kakashi-sensei standing in front of Tsunade's desk. "Tsunade? What happened?"

Tsunade looked up. "Ah, Naruto, good everybody is here. Listen up, we received a distress call from Suna. Apparently the Kazekage was taken captive by a group called the Atkatsuki."

Sakura gasped and Naruto clenched his fists. "Gaara was taken? By the same people who are after me?" Both Sakura and Kakashi turned around to look at Naruto, seeing his head was lowered. "It's not fair, we both were alone in the beginning. Nobody would protect us and believe in us." Naruto remembered when Iruka entered his life...then Team 7...then the whole Konoha 12...then Sasuke. "But I gained loved ones, while Gaara was left all alone still. He has nobody! We have to get him!"

Sakura watched Naruto in shock. Naruto's eyes were bright with determination. His stance was tall and tense, ready to take on anything. _'You really have changed, Naruto.'_

_Angel: I'm getting better at this story. Even Demon is helping me more and more with it. And the inspiration...it won't leave me! I'VE NEVER BEEN HAPPIER! I'M BACK BABY! I'M BACK!_


	4. Chapter 4

_Angel: I'm on a role...unfortunately I won't be able to work on this story in the evening anymore. There are family issues and I'm going to be the one to cave in and give them what they want...just to shut them both up. So I'll work on this story whenever I'm at school. Enjoy Chapter 4!_

Sasuke looked at Orochimaru as the Sannin made snakes around him. "Now, Sasuke-kun, these are simple summons. You can use them at anytime without bleeding like I do with Manda. Give it a try."

Sasuke sighed glaring at the snakes that slithered around Orochimaru's legs. They all were black scaled with sharp yellow eyes. One snake met his eyes and he hesitated...seeing the snake had bright blue eyes. It was like that day all over again. Sasuke stopped breathing, his eyes wide in fear. The snake watched him lazily.

"Sasuke? What are you waiting for?"

Sasuke gripped his sword hilt tightly. _'No. Don't be stupid, you're not ready yet.' _His fingers slowly let go of the blade and he put his palms together. Shifting his fingers, he created the seal. "Summoning Jutsu: Snake army!"

Around his feet appeared a group of silver scaled snakes, all with red eyes. They hissed and crawled up to his shoulders, wrapping around his arms and neck loosely. The scales felt cold and rough on his skin. He looked at one of the snakes who met his eyes. The snake's head was wide around it's cheeks and slowly narrowed to it's nostrils. It's red eyes were slitted and very observant of it's summoner. From the head, the neck and body started very slim, thickening toward the middle, then slimming down again toward the tail. Sasuke opened his hand, holding it out for the curious serpent. The snake flicked it's tongue and touched his skin, then slowly slithered on to rest in his palm. Sasuke watched the snake, feeling a strange connection to the snake. It was almost like they understood each other.

Orochimaru chuckled quietly. "Good...very good. Now, I want you to spend the day connecting to these snakes. They will be your friends for a good long time."

Sasuke looked up from the snake that rested in his hand and saw Orochimaru turn to leave. He glared at Orochimaru without his knowing about it. _'Yes...good friends.'_

Later that night, Sasuke sat up in his bed, sweat running down his body. Another dream of Naruto haunted him again. It was that same day he killed Naruto, but his eyes remained open. Those dead eyes accused him and cursed him to a life of hell. Sasuke threw the covers off of him and stepped outside in only his loose pants. The moonlight was glowing on his pale skin. He looked up into the stars, stretching his arms back behind his head and he stood just like Naruto would have. He chuckled. "Naruto would tease me if he saw this." His face went solemn. "Wouldn't you, Naruto-kun?"

He stood like that for a while, thinking and watching the stars. He began to wonder how Sakura and Kakashi-sensei were doing without him and Naruto. He smirked. "Kakashi-sensei, if you saw my chidori you'd be proud." He stood up like he was ready to battle then he drew his blade, resting his fingers on it. Soon it began to glow blue with electric power much like the chidori. He jabbed the blade forward and a bolt of lightning shot from the sharp tip. When the last of the lightning in that blast vanished into nothingness, Sasuke stood straight up with a smile. Then he closed his eyes, clamping his hands together, meshing his fingers together, then performed a series of handseals. His entire body began to glow and emit lightning. He felt the warm buzz begin to fill his body. He held the jutsu still for a few minutes and then finally dropped to his knees, both hands slamming into the earth and a circle of lightning bolted up toward the sky from the ground several meters in diameter. He looked up into the sky. "Naruto, are you proud of me?"

****later*****

Sasuke woke up groggy to Kabuto's voice.

"Very well, it will be done."

Sasuke rubbed his eyes, getting out of bed. He tip-toed down the hall following Kabuto's voice. Then he froze, hearing Orochimaru's. "You have six months, then the jutsu must be done. Even at my weakest I can beat Sasuke down." 

Sasuke gritted his teeth. They were discussing his end when Orochimaru would take Sasuke's body for the Sharingan. He knew it was going to happen eventually but now that he could think straight about it...he didn't want it to happen. He clenched his fists, feeling his nails bite into his skin. He had six months to get stronger...six months to kill Orochimaru. _'They won't take me!'_

******in Suna******

Naruto watched Kankuro sit up from the medic bed. It was the first time he saw Kankuro without that purple face paint on him, and it was strange. "It was Sasori of the Red Sand. The master of all puppets." He looked down. "He didn't have Gaara, it was his partner, the blonde guy."

"Kankuro..." Naruto muttered, "Trust me when I say this. I will bring Gaara back no matter what happens. I won't let Gaara be alone. He'll never be alone when I bring him back, he has his whole village that will be there for him."

Kankuro smiled. "For being a twerp, you have grown up."

Naruto twitched. "Don't you call me a twerp again! That was three years ago!"

"Naruto quit shouting." Naruto looked up at Sakura. She sighed. "You can be so annoying at times. I still don't think you grew up. Sure, you may be stronger and more determined, but you still act like a child."

Naruto looked down, closing his mouth. She was right, he was just a child...but only in her world. Sasuke never called him a child. Sure he called him dobe and looser, but that was before they fell for each other. And even after that, Sasuke still went with the names and so did Naruto. They didn't do it just to cover themselves up, they did it because it strengthened that special bond they had. "You're right, Sakura."

Sakura gasped, Naruto had always called her Sakura-chan. But now, he won't say it. It's always just...Sakura.

"I've always been like a child...maybe I still am." He left the room, closing the door in a way that made Sakura flinched. The wind blew around him as he stepped outside from the Kazekage mansion. The sun almost blinded him, but he saw okay after a few minutes. He ran through the village and climbed up a cliff to stand at the edge. He looked out into the horizon, the sun was starting to disappear, painting the sky bright orange. He sighed, closing his eyes.

***in Rice Country***

Sasuke punched the tree harder than the last time. He had made an indent into the wood with each hit. His knuckles began to bleed from the splinters. "Damn! Fucking, Orochimaru! You won't take me! I'll kill you!" He threw one final punch infused with the chidori that it actually chopped the tree down. Sasuke panted hard through his clenched teeth. "You...can't...take me...I...won't...surrender!" He dropped to his knees and slumped over himself, supporting himself on his knees and forearms. "Naruto...give me the strength I need!"

***flashback***

Sasuke curled up in his sleeping bag in Tazuna's house. He slept on one side of the room while Kakashi took to the sofa in the other room and Naruto slept in a sleeping bag on the other side. His eyes remained open, watching the rain fall outside the window. Lightning flashed and thunder crashed right after. The storm was right above them. He watched and listened to the storm for a while, then felt something next to him. He turned and looked just as lightning flashed and he saw a frightened little Naruto shaking next to him under the blanket.

"What the hell are you doing, Dobe?"

Naruto looked up at him. "I hate storms," he whimpered."

"Get out of my bed!" Sasuke hissed.

"But...but I hate the storms, they scare me!"

"Get out!" Sasuke yelled, kicking Naruto in the gut and pushing him out of the bed. When Naruto looked at him with sad, scared eyes, Sasuke pointed sharply away. "Get out!"

Naruto sighed and walked away back to his sleeping bag. Sasuke sighed in relief, laying back down on his side. _'I'm not gay like Naruto seems to be showing.'_ He leaned a little forward to lay on his stomach and he felt sudden pain run from his manhood. He grunted in pain. _'Wait a minute...' _He lifted the sheet. _'Shit! I'm not gay I'm not gay I'm not gay!'_

***end flashback***

Sasuke laid in the grass, letting the sun warm his body. His shirt was slid off to let his entire chest be warmed by the sun's light. But no matter how much time he spent in the sunlight...he still felt cold...so cold and wasting away. He was a shell now of pain and loneliness, nothing could warm his heart now. Only Naruto warmed his heart, just the memory of that goofy blonde made him feel even slightly warmer. He watched the clouds pass over him slowly. "Naruto-kun...I hope you are happy up there...wherever you are now."

*******************end chapter*********************

_Angel: I finally found the song for Sasuke! Three Days Grace: World So Cold. It makes perfect sense. I was riding with Demon to class, taking my brother to school when the song began to play and my mind clicked as I was thinking about this story. I told Demon and he listened for a moment and completely agreed. Now whenever I write about Sasuke that song will play until I finish with Sasuke's scene. For those readers who are my old fans from the NaruHina stories, I'm sorry about this story. I lost one of you guys because of it. I just hope that you guys can understand that I was just trying the story out to try something new and I've grown to love it. My NaruHina stories will continue...just not right now. Love you all!_


	5. Chapter 5

_Angel: Hello again, I've noticed how short my chapters are...and I'm trying to make them longer. It may be a tad bit difficult given the story plot-line. But I'll see what I can do. Maybe I should start watching parts of the anime to know what I'm doing with the story. So I may take a few extra days longer to do the scenes and plot the timeline as close as I can. Enjoy now...Chapter 5!_

_********chapter start**********_

Naruto heard footsteps behind him from atop the hospital building in Suna. He didn't bother turning around. When he saw Kakashi lean against the rail, he looked at the sensei. "I'm sorry for losing my cool, Kakashi-sensei."

Kakashi looked at the young man that was staring into the sky. Naruto was watching the clouds pass over him slowly. "Naruto, I understand how hard it is to be back as a part of Team 7 after losing Sasuke."

Naruto just stood up straight. "When are we going to get Gaara?"

Kakashi allowed the change of subject go. It was clear Naruto didn't want to talk about Sasuke. "We are to leave when we are ready."

"Not without me!" a voice called out. When Kakashi and Naruto looked, they saw a little old lady. "I will be joining you."

Baki ran up to the old lady. "Chiyo-sama! Are you sure you want to risk your health?"

"I've been wanting to see my darling grandson for quite a long time," Chiyo said calmly, "Besides, he must be punished for what he has done to this village. And who do it better than one of his own kin." She looked at Naruto and smiled.

Baki sighed, "Alright, you just be careful, Chiyo-sama."

The old lady nodded. "Well, Son of the White Fang, shall we be going?"

Kakashi was taken aback by the name that he hasn't heard in years. "White Fang...hn, so you know my father."

Chiyo looked at him. "Even though he destroyed my family and village so long ago..." Kakashi sighed, looking down. "I guess his son isn't too bad for helping our village find their Kazekage."

Kakashi smiled, scratching the back of his head nervously. "Well, we are allies after all."

***Stay with Me***

Sasuke sat in the middle of his room, meditating. At first, his mind was blank, he saw nothing and thought nothing. Though eventually that nothingness turned into blue eyes...then blonde hair. _'Naruto...'_ He focused in on the thought of Naruto and it turned into memories that flashed of their friendship turned love. His dobe, his dork. He always thought that even though Naruto was an idiot, he was a sweet loving idiot. He missed him.

"Sasuke-kun," Orochimaru chimed, entering Sasuke's room.

Sasuke opened his eyes, revealing the Sharingan. "What is it?"

"I want you to meet Karin."

A red-haired girl with glasses entered. She wore a purple jacket that showed her mid drift really short, skin-tight shorts and thigh high black boots. She smiled lustfully. "Hello, Sasuke-kun."

Sasuke looked at the girl and only shrugged. "Hn."

Orochimaru smiled. "You've been lonely and I haven't been treating you right. After all, you're a young man and I know that one of your dreams is to rebuild the clan your brother destroyed."

_'If Naruto was able to have children, it would be him that would rebuild the clan. But since that's not the case, I will let the clan die with me.'_ "Orochimaru, right now I'm not worried about sex and rebuilding the clan. Right now I want to avenge my family who were robbed of their life." He seriously hoped that Orochimaru would drop the idea because to be honest, Karin wasn't at all attractive even for a woman. Karin frowned and crossed her arms. Sasuke can see the rejection in her face. _'Good, at least you showed rejection. I don't know how many times I've searched the faces of Sakura and Ino to get rid of those crazy girls.'_ "If you don't mind, Orochimaru, I'd like to be alone so I can meditate."

And with that, Orochimaru left the room.

Sasuke sighed and laid on his back on the bed. He didn't understand it. He knew that Orochimaru was to take his body in six months; so why did the man have to go and offer him a woman when he knew that Sasuke loved Naruto still? It didn't make sense. He closed his eyes again and focused on the memory of Naruto.

***Flashback***

Naruto was watching him from the distance, Sasuke knew he was. Sasuke looked at Naruto from the corner of his eye, watching the blonde man stretch after a run. His lean muscles rippled under his tan skin. The blonde was looking rather attractive today in only a pair of running pants hanging loosely on his hips. His chest was firm but not overly muscular.

Sakura smiled. "Alright, I'll see you guys tomorrow." She smiled at Sasuke. "Bye, Sasuke-kun." She skipped away just as Sasuke shuddered. Naruto had noticed, but didn't say anything.

"Hey, Naruto-san."

Naruto looked up and saw Sasuke was sitting against a tree. Sasuke had a strange look in his eyes that Naruto didn't recognize. "What is it, teme?"

Sasuke chuckled, "Dobe, I've noticed something about you recently." Naruto's eyes widened. Sasuke couldn't help but to smirk. "You know what it is...don't you?" He stood up and walked to him. "You've been watching me for a while...haven't you?"

Naruto stood up against him as Sasuke drew closer and closer. He was so close, his eyes staring at him lustfully. Why was he afraid of Sasuke? This was what he wanted. Naruto planted his feet and stood tall, but Sasuke was still taller and more intimidating. He met the dark eyes of his friend, seeing the desire boiling deep in the onyx depths. "Teme..."

"Dobe..." Sasuke let out a sigh as he grabbed the blonde's hair and pulled him close into a hard kiss. He held Naruto's shoulders tightly as he felt him tense. _'Relax, please relax.'_ Naruto slowly relaxed and pulled himself deeper into the kiss. Soon their tongues fought for dominance, with Sasuke winning. He pushed Naruto up against the tree, pinning him with his own body. His knee lifted and held Naruto's hardening member. Naruto groaned, his hands were pushing against Sasuke's bare chest. He felt the raven's quickening heartbeat and felt his own match it.

Sasuke growled and kissed down Naruto's neck, listening to the soft gasps that escaped his dobe's lips. He began to nip at his skin and made Naruto whimper. Then he decided to bite down onto his shoulder where nobody would see the mark. Naruto let out a soft cry and rubbed himself against Sasuke's leg. He groaned as Sasuke sucked into his bite. Sasuke wrapped his arms around Naruto's waist and pulled him closer, catching a gasp that escaped Naruto.

The emotions that went through both of the boys were conflicting. Joy, fear and anger. They didn't know what to think. In one second, they could feel a thought, then with one shudder, that thought was destroyed. They couldn't think at all. All they were focused on is touching the other...sharing the forbidden touch.

Sasuke met Naruto's eyes as he hovered over the blonde. They were bright and beautiful. "Naruto..."

"Yes, Sasuke?" Naruto whispered. He cupped his raven-haired lover's cheek, feeling him nuzzle into it.

Sasuke looked at the dobe's chest seeing all the bite marks he left. He hoped that nobody would notice them and that Naruto would keep them covered. He even broke the skin several times and noticed a little blood. He reached down and licked the minor wounds. Naruto gasped, clinging to Sasuke's shoulders. They both knew that on Sasuke's back were numerous claw marks from Naruto clawing at him.

Sasuke laid down on his side next to Naruto and he wrapped an arm around him. Naruto turned and looked at Sasuke, seeing the devious smirk on his teme. "Sasuke," he whispered, "Did this mean something to you?"

Sasuke could only smile. "You are such a dobe, Naruto-kun." He kissed Naruto gently. "Of course it meant something to me. I've been wanting to be like this with you for a while now." He looked down. "I was just afraid that you wouldn't return my feelings."

Naruto snuggled closer. "I was afraid of the same thing." He didn't want to have admitted his feelings to Sasuke and then lose his best friend because Sasuke didn't have the same feelings. He didn't know what he would do without his teme in his life. Sasuke may be his eternal rival and best friend in public, but they were lovers in private. He met Sasuke's eyes. "Sasuke-kun...I love you."

***End Flashback***

Naruto glared into the red eyes of one Uchiha Itachi. It was this man who had destroyed his teme's life and ran him out of the village crazy with revenge. Sasuke was somewhere, killing himself in order to kill this man. "Uchiha!" Naruto screamed, "I will destroy you! You destroyed Sasuke's life and now you take Gaara away! You will pay for this!"

Itachi looked at the blonde shinobi thoughtfully. He saw the pain deep in those blue eyes that could only make sense of a heartbroken teenager. Of what he knew when following both this Jinjuriki and Sasuke, he knew of their connection running deeper than friendship and comradeship. "Naruto, just come with us and nobody else will get hurt."

"NO!" Naruto yelled, "I won't let you take me or Gaara!" Naruto jumped forward and Kakashi grabbed his shirt, making Naruto stop. "Kakashi-sensei! Let me go!"

"No," Kakashi muttered, "You can't take on Itachi by yourself." Naruto growled, struggling. "Naruto, I need you to stay here."

Naruto growled. "Another no fighting teamwork?"

"No," Kakashi pulled his headband up, revealing his Sharingan, "Cover me, and don't make eye contact."

Naruto nodded and watched Kakashi take off toward the Akatuski member. When the two clashed, Naruto charged at the shadow clone that had appeared, charging up a Rasengan in his hand. The clone dispersed into ravens after the attack and Naruto looked around, finding himself alone. _'No, I can't be in a genjutsu! How could this have happened? I didn't meet his eyes!'_ He spun around then found Sakura, Granny Chiyo, and Kakashi fallen around him, Itachi was nowhere in sight. "This is a genjustu..." Naruto muttered. He watched all three of them stand up and phase into Itachi shadow clones.

"Naruto-kun..." a very familiar voice called out. Naruto froze, his eyes widened. He slowly turned around to make sure that the voice matched. That soft voice that always made him smile when he heard it. He stared into the onyx eyes of Uchiha Sasuke. He stood there as Naruto had last seen him on a good circumstance. Shirtless and wearing black hakamas, his Sharingan was swirling.

"S-Sasuke..." Naruto croaked. It had been years since he saw Sasuke. And even though this was a genjutsu, it was hurting just as much.

Sasuke walked to him slowly. "Naruto, why do you look so broken?" He cupped the blonde's cheek into his hand and tilted his head to meet his eyes. "I hate seeing my dobe so sad." Their lips connected gently.

As much as Naruto wanted to break away from this genjutsu, it felt so real.

"DEMON!" A voice screeched. Naruto jumped out of the kiss and looked, seeing Sakura looking at him with rage in her eyes. More of his friends and the villagers from Konoha appeared, yelling at him to get away from their prince. They threatened death and torture upon him for tainting their prince.

He turned to Sasuke for help when he saw the Curse Seal Sasuke glaring at him with a Chidori glowing in his hand. "It is the end, Naruto-kun..."

"NO!" Naruto screamed. He slammed his eyes shut when all of a sudden he felt himself hit the ground. He thrashed against the hands that held him still.

"Naruto!" A girl's voice called, "Naruto, wake up! Snap out of it!"

Naruto's eyes snapped open and he stared up, seeing Sakura and Granny Chiyo looking down at him concerned. He couldn't move...or more like refused to move.

"Naruto, are you okay?" Sakura muttered.

Naruto looked at Sakura and was hesitant to answer, still hearing her scream echo in his mind. Then he finally nodded and stood up, refusing any help from the women. It wasn't anything against them, he just didn't want to be touched. He watched Kakashi's movements then saw his plan. He was going to get a clone locked in a genjutsu to freeze Itachi, leaving the man open for the final attack. He jumped into a hiding spot to keep Itachi unaware. Naruto narrowed his eyes, trying to clear his mind from the nightmare he experienced.

"Naruto!" Kakashi called out, "Do it now! Take the clone out!"

Naruto charged up a much larger Rasengan and charged at him, screaming in rage.

***Stay with Me***

_Angel: Well, that's the end of this chapter. Finally I can post it. I watched all the way up to Team Kakashi and Team Gai finding the Akatsuki hideout. Sorry if this battle between Team Kakashi and Itachi is short and lame. I just wanted to focus on the genjutsu Itachi traps Naruto in. Was it a good change?_


	6. Chapter 6

_Angel: Here's chapter 6 finally. I've gotten the urge to write some more. I'm taking this story a bit farther than originally. The last few chapters should be relaxing and funny. Enjoy!_

_***Stay With Me***_

"Gaara!" Naruto yelled as he charged after the blond Atkatsuki member. He refused to lose his friend. After much time of chasing him, the kidnapper gave up trying to get Naruto to himself. Naruto and Kakashi followed the man deeper into the wooded area. Kakashi was keeping a close eye on Naruto, making sure he didn't lose himself in the battles. The more emotional Naruto got, the more likely Kyuubi was going to leak out. So far, Naruto had been able to keep himself calmer longer.

Naruto saw the enemy nin get ready to drop Gaara, he ran ahead and caught the sand nin just before he hit the ground. "Gaara? Gaara, answer me! Wake up!"

The enemy chuckled, "You really think he'll come back? Such a foolish boy. He won't come back, he was dead before you found him."

Naruto growled and before the blond enemy knew it, the jinjuriki's were gone and he stood face to face with a very pissed Naruto. His eyes were blood red, the whisker marks darkening every second. Soon an aura of blood red chakra enveloped him in a cloak, taking on the shape of the demon fox, his fingernails became claws.

Kakashi gasped, the clone beside him doubled over in pain and popped out of existance. _'Oh no! Naruto's pushed himself to the 2-tailed state!'_ He reached into his pouch searching for the seal that Jiraiya gave him. _'If Naruto ever reached 2-tailed state, make sure to put this seal onto his forehead.'_

Naruto screamed in rage and charged at the other blond. He dodged the first attack, but couldn't avoid the following attack. The demon fox boy slashed his claws out and cut his body deeply. He jumped away, cursing. He looked at the boy and noticed now he had a brighter aura and instead of one tail he had two. _'Maybe Sasori was right, I can't take on this one.'_ He dodged another attack and vanished.

Naruto spun around, sniffing the air for his enemy. Kakashi found his chance to strike and he appeared in front of the boy and slapped the seal onto his forehead. Naruto froze, the red chakra retreated back into his body and he slowly returned to normal. Naruto groaned and grabbed his head as he began to feel a headache coming onto him.

It wasn't long before Team Gai, Sakura, and Granny Chiyo met up with them in an empty field. "Oh no!" Sakura almost cried, seeing Gaara's dead body.

Chiyo looked at Gaara's body then pushed her sleeves up. "I can bring him back."

Naruto watched as Granny Chiyo trying to bring Gaara back to life. He saw her falter, it was clear she didn't have enough chakra. He walked to her and knelt on the other side of Gaara's body. She looked at him shocked. "Granny, use my chakra. I have more than enough."

The old lady smiled and guided the boy to lend her his chakra. It wasn't long before Naruto saw Gaara begin taking his breaths. "Gaara, wake up. Open your eyes." For some reason, hearing himself say those words pulled a heart string, like he had heard those words said to him before. He fought back tears as he kept coaxing his friend to open his eyes.

Soon, Gaara opened those jade green eyes and looked up. Naruto was the first thing he saw. "N-Naruto? Where am I?" Naruto grinned his normal goofy grin, but Gaara noticed a tinge of pain deeper in those baby blues. And he could only take a guess at what was hurting him. _'The Uchiha...'_

"You're alive, Gaara." Naruto said calmly.

***Stay with Me***

"Sasuke," Orochimaru called. The younger man looked at him. "In a week we will meet with our contact at Tenchi bridge."

Sasuke raised an eyebrow. "What of it? Why are you telling me this?"

"I want you to accompany Kabuto and me." Orochimaru answered.

The Uchiha shrugged. Then left the room, going outside to train again. As he trained, he began to think about Naruto again. Whenever he was alone, he can never get the blond dobe out of his mind. He guessed some small part of him fruitlessly wished, that by some unnatural force, Naruto was alive and looking for him. He couldn't return to the village on his own, he needed help. The only person who could bring him back was his blond lover. He shook his head. "Stupid, you killed Naruto, there is no way he could have survived that attack! Stop dreaming!"

He punched a tree and growled as the pain shook up his arm. He leaned against the tree and slid down the trunk to sit. He pulled his knees to his chest and hid his face. He wanted to cry so much, but he was beginning to believe that a man as sinful as he was had no tears. He couldn't cry, something was stopping him. His fingers lightly touched the curse seal. _'It's Orochimaru's fault, he's the reason I can't be myself.'_ He closed his eyes. _'He will die for it!'_

***Stay with Me***

Naruto crouched down low on the very top of the Hokage Mansion, overhearing the conversation between Sakura, Tsunade, and Shizune. He clenched his fists tightly.

"What if it's a trap?" Tsunade asked.

A moment passed before Sakura spoke. "A trap..."

"What if the Akatsuki set up that trap to capture Naruto?" Tsunade asked more clearly.

Naruto listened closely. "Then I will fight with all my might!" Sakura answered.

"Tsunade-sama," Shizune interrupted, "I recommend that you don't send Naruto."

A moment of silence passed ever so slowly. It was hard for Naruto to stay still. "Why not?" Tsunade asked.

"If it is a trap with the Akatsuki, then sending Naruto is just what they want! Naruto shouldn't leave on a mission like that. Besides, Naruto can get careless when it comes to finding Sasuke." Shizune sighed. "I can agree with Sakura going, but Naruto could mess the mission up if he lets his emotions get to him."

Tsunade crossed her arms. "It's that drive to find Sasuke that would make Naruto and Sakura work well together and be successful. Which is why I want them to go after him." She smirked, then looked up. "You're gonna have to get a new team member, Naruto. What do you say?"

Sakura and Shizune looked up to see Naruto standing above them, his arms crossed at that determined look in his eyes once again. He jumped down and landed on the railing beside Tsunade, then he took off to the village. He had a chance to get Sasuke back...there was no way he would pass this chance up.

***Stay With Me***

"Come on! You have Akamaru, can we have just one of you?" Naruto was getting desperate, nobody was willing to help him. He heard shuffling behind him and he turned around, seeing a quick flash of indigo hair vanish behind a wall. He walked to the wall and saw Hinata standing there, looking nervous. "Hey, Hinata!"

She froze up, then took a deep breath and didn't faint like she usually did. "H-hello, N-Naruto-kun." She saw that pain in his blue eyes he managed to push back ever since that event happened that nearly claimed her teammate and cousin's life. It still hurt him though, she could tell. "Y-you look t-troubled."

Naruto sighed, leaning against the wall. "I'm trying to find a replacement teammate so Sakura and I can go find Sasuke. But nobody is helping me." Hinata was noticing the sadness getting darker and darker in his eyes and she took his hand. He looked at her confused. "Hinata?"

"Naruto, you'll find Sasuke." She smiled. "I'm sure you will. You can bring Sasuke back."

He blinked. "Why are you having such high hopes for me?"

Hinata smiled. "I know how much Sasuke means to you."

Naruto's eyes widened, catching what she was saying. "How did you know?"

Hinata smiled. "Before I realized your heart was Sasuke's, I watched you from the distance, hoping that I could claim your heart." She smiled. "I was angry at first when I saw you and Sasuke in love with each other. But now, I'm happy. I had never seen you so happy than when you were with Sasuke. Now I hope you find Sasuke, I can't bear to see my friend in pain."

Naruto bit his lip then hugged Hinata tightly. Normally, she would blush brightly and faint, but she wrapped her arms around him and held him until he pulled away. His eyes were softer now. "Thank you, Hinata. I needed that." With that, he left Team 8 to start their own mission, feeling better.

***Stay with Me***

Sasuke closed his eyes as he traveled along side Orochimaru. It didn't give him time to train in ways to kill the man. So all he was able to do was ignore him and keep his mind busy. He clenched his fists, knowing that his mind would move first to Naruto and it did of course. Memories hit him in waves again. He sighed and decided to give in to a memory.

***Flashback***

Sasuke entered Naruto's apartment, seeing that the door was unlocked again. He knew his dobe was home because he didn't come up to training this morning. Something was bothering the blond if he didn't arrive to training. "Naruto? You here?"

"S-Sasuke?" Naruto called out quietly, coming from the bedroom.

Sasuke stepped to the doorway and noticed Naruto was looking at himself in the mirror. From the reflection, Sasuke saw the red eyes that he understood all too well. He remembered that day of training when Naruto's stress and emotions won and that demon's chakra took control of him. His fingers traced the scars on his shoulder...the result of trying to calm him down using his weaker Sharingan. Kakashi had told him that the Sharingan could slow down the demon if used properly, he just never mastered it.

"Naruto? Are you okay?" He slowly approached the very still blond. Naruto's eyes watched him from the reflection closely. "You didn't come to training today. I was worried." He touched Naruto's bare shoulder and pulled back just as quickly as Naruto reacted. The blond spun himself around and pinned Sasuke to the wall, growling. Sasuke activated his eyes and stared into Naruto's. Naruto froze in the gaze. "Calm down, I'm not going to hurt you."

Naruto's eyes saw the scars on Sasuke's shoulder and he shuddered. Sasuke saw his chance and he gripped his lover's wrists and flipped their positions over. Now Sasuke was pinning Naruto to the wall. When Naruto closed his eyes, Sasuke breathed softly into the blond's neck. "I won't hurt you. Don't let the fox get to you." Sasuke watched as Naruto opened his eyes to reveal those bright azure orbs that he'd come to love seeing. "Naruto..."

"Sasuke," Naruto whispered, "Kyuubi was talking to me...about you..."

Sasuke stopped him and kissed him softly. He pulled away slowly, pressing his forehead against his troubled lover's. "Don't talk about it. I can't stand to see you hurting in any way possible." They kissed again and before they knew it, they were on Naruto's bed, shirts torn off and Sasuke leaving love marks all over his dobe's body where a shirt could easily hide them. "Naruto...I love you."

Naruto blushed at Sasuke's gentle words. Out in public, his voice was always stoic just to keep everybody else off his back about his change of heart. But when they were alone, Sasuke's voice turned soft, gentle, and loving. They kissed again as Sasuke hovered over Naruto. They laid beside each other, Sasuke pulled Naruto into his arms. "Sasuke...promise me...promise me that you'll never leave me."

"I promise."

***Stay with Me***

Naruto glared at Sai as they left the village. How dare they think that this guy can replace Sasuke. He clenched his fists. Sasuke made Team 7 a place for him to call family. With Kakashi-sensei bedridden

Their captain, Yamato was observing them out of the corner of his eye. There had to be a way to calm things down before fists were thrown. When another argument reared its ugly head, making things tense between Naruto and Sai, leaving Sakura struggling for control, he decided to give them a choice...

***Stay with Me***

Naruto kept his shoulders tight as he sat between Sai and Yamato in the hot springs. He felt this overwhelming tension around him. Secretly, he had wished Sasuke would walk in with a towel wrapped around his slender hips, with that seductive smirk playing his lips. Naruto was unaware he slid further down into the hot water, his eyes half closed, but not seeing, and an almost stupid smirk on his face that nobody noticed.

"This is a great way for men to bond," Yamato sighed, "Don't you agree, Naruto?" He looked down seeing Naruto in a small trance. "I said, 'Don't you agree, Naruto'?"

Naruto heard his name and when he looked at his team captain, he saw that scary look Yamato always gives him. He didn't respond vocally, he shuddered and quickly stood to inch away from him. He heard a snicker from behind him and he turned to see Sai with that fake smile on his lips again. "What do you want?" he growled.

"Wow, so you do have 'equipment' after all."

Naruto felt heat rise in his cheeks, and spread to his ears and neck. He quickly dove under the water down to his chin. He felt extremely embarrassed. Sasuke's teasing echoed in his head.

"_Naruto-kun, is that a kunai in your pocket or are you happy to see me?"_

"_What do you think, teme?"_

_The raven chuckled as he trailed his hand down Naruto's body. "You're so cute when you blush."_

_Naruto stammered, "Sh-shut u-up, teme!" He gasped when Sasuke's hand grasped his swollen manhood._

Naruto ducked under the water, cursing at himself. _'I can't let this get to me. It'll kill me before I find him.'_

After leaving the hot springs, he found himself in another argument against Sai. He dared to speak ill of Sasuke again in front of him. Luckly, for Sai, Sakura was nowhere within earshot therefore avoiding injury.

"You have no right to say that about Sasuke!" Naruto snarled, "You don't know him! You don't know how much he's meant to me and the village."

Sai tilted his head. "Interesting," he muttered, "you show such protection toward a comrade who left you for dead and betrayed the village." He crossed his lithe arms. "I am interested to see this bond you seem to have for him. And does he have the same bond with you."

***Stay With Me***

_Angel: finally, I've written this chapter after a month and a half of thinking and jotting things down and voicing my thoughts to Demon. I'm not too happy with this chapter and yet I am at the same time. Gotta love watching Junjou Romantica and getting inspiration **smiles happily** Oh and I have opened a new fanfiction account for myself to write other Yaoi stories. Penname: ademonsangel-13. I don't have anything on there as far as writing just yet. Though I have inspiration to write Junjou Romantica fics and another NaruSasu fic in my mind. So keep an eye out for it!_


	7. Chapter 7

_Angel: Here's Chapter 7. I know exactly what to do in this chapter...at least what I want to do. There's a possibility that I could take things a little farther. I hope you are enjoying this as much as I am._

_***Stay With Me***_

Sasuke rested his head up against a tree. Orochimaru had told him to stop and stay where he was out of sight as they rendezvous with an Akatsuki member. He sighed, closing his eyes, letting the sun rays warm his face. Once again, even though his skin was warm, he still felt cold. He felt his heart skip a beat, remembering a time where he and Naruto staked out in a tree like this during one of Kakashi's training lessons.

***flashback***

Naruto didn't even look at Sasuke. The raven knew that Naruto was still mad at him. He sighed and leaned back against the tree truck. They were well over a hundred feet up and well hidden among the leaves. "Naruto..."

"Shut up, teme." Naruto muttered.

Sasuke sighed. "Naruto, I'm sorry for what I did." He met those blue eyes that finally decided to look at him. Sasuke smiled. "I love you."

***end flashback***

Sasuke opened his eyes, hearing the low hiss of a snake. He looked into the yellow eyes of one of Orochimaru's summons. "What?"

"Go straight back to the hideout. Orochimaru-sama will return for your training." And with that, the snake melted into nothing.

Sasuke stood up, looking deeper into the forest for a silent moment. Then he took off running to the hideout. Good thing Orochimaru decided to send him back to the hideout, he needed some time alone in the dark.

***Stay With Me***

Naruto tapped his finger impatiently against the rock he hid behind. "When is he going to give us that signal?" he whispered.

"He needs to make the perfect move in order to capture this guy," Sakura answered quietly.

He watched as the cloaked man who was their informant from Orochimaru approached the well disguised Captain Yamato. He couldn't hear a thing they were saying because of the wind, but before he said anything to Sakura, he caught his tongue. Of course they wouldn't be able to hear anything, that's why Orochimaru's informant would choose this place. They didn't want to be overheard.

Naruto closed his eyes for a moment, then snapped them open when he heard Sakura gasp. He looked toward the bridge again and cursed under his breath. Standing in front of Capatin Yamato was none other than Kabuto. He clenched his fists, resisting the urge to jump out and kill that man. He watched in anger as Yamato talked with Kabuto. He gasped when Orochimaru came up behind Kabuto and looked like he was going to kill him, but somehow Kabuto got himself beside Yamato.

_'Come on! Where's that signal?'_ He gasped when Kabuto broke through Yamato's disguise. "No!"

"He's been founded!" Sakura gasped. She grabbed Naruto's sleeve when he moved. "Don't you dare move! Wait for his signal!" Naruto growled and watched Yamato raise his hand. "That's the signal, go!"

The three of them jumped and landed in between Yamato and their enemy. Naruto growled, knowing that he let a little bit of Kyuubi leak. His vision was red with anger. He glared straight at Orochimaru with the intent to kill. That man was going to pay for taking Sasuke away from him.

Orochimaru chuckled darkly. "My my, have you grown, Naruto-kun." He smirked. "I wonder who is stronger...you...or Sasuke-kun."

Naruto snarled, "Give Sasuke back!" He was unaware of the burning red chakra surrounding him. No matter what, he would get Sasuke back even if it meant tearing this guy limb from limb. He jumped and threw a powerful swing at him, knocking the snake sage deep into the woods behind him. It didn't take long before he returned though, laughing. Naruto growled deeper, feeling a bigger burst of Kyuubi's chakra flow through him, though he was unaware of the wind typhoon that was spinning around the bridge.

Suddenly, he felt a sharp burning pain...then nothing. All was black around him...then a memory...

***Flashback***

Naruto walked through the village. The full moon glowing peacefully over Konoha. Midnight was the most peaceful time of any day for the village...Naruto's favorite time. He got to be himself and not worry his daily worries. He approached the lake where he would float and swim for a while before deciding to go to bed. He pulled his shirt off and kicked his sandals off, setting them neatly on a low thick tree branch then walked toward the shoreline. He froze seeing a familiar dark blue shirt. He looked out to the water and saw him floating on his back, his pale skin a beautiful contrast against the black water. Naruto had to stop and marvel and the Adonis beauty he was.

"What are you doing here?" Naruto asked.

Sasuke flipped around until he was shoulder deep in water and he waded. "I figured I would join you in your midnight swimming."

"How did you know I came here at this time?"

Sasuke chuckled, "You'd be surprised at the things you find out when you can't sleep and roam the village." He swam up to the shore and came up wearing a pair of dark blue swim shorts. Naruto ever wondered if he had more than blue and white clothes. The raven reached his hand out to touch Naruto's cheek, but he avoided it and sat down. Sasuke sat beside him, watching as Naruto drew his knees up to his chest. "What's wrong? Something is bothering you."

"It's nothing," Naruto lied.

"Like hell it's nothing!" Sasuke muttered. He knelt in front of Naruto and grabbed his hand. "You've been acting strange lately around me when we're alone. I'm getting worried about you! You won't talk to me. What's going on? Don't you trust me, Naruto?"

Naruto pushed him away and walked into the water, but he didn't get his freedom for long. Sasuke ran up behind him and wrapped his arms around the blond, spooning him. Naruto bit his lip. "Sasuke...trust..." He sighed. "Trust is hard for me." Sasuke looked straight out into the horizon, listening to the hesitant pain in his dobe's voice. "I'm having a hard time with my feelings. I've never been able to trust anybody in my whole life."

"What do you mean?" Sasuke whispered.

"You know about the Kyuubi." Naruto's hand slowly crawled up Sasuke's arm, feeling the healing scars of where he struck. He felt his heart tighten as Sasuke shuddered. "I never knew my parents, nobody would tell me about them. All I was to them was a bratty demon child they never wanted to touch. I was raised in an orphanage, abused, beaten, neglected. Nobody wanted me. Whenever I put trust into somebody, they would turn around and stab me in the back. I escaped that place and felt the wrath of the villagers."

Sasuke closed his eyes tightly. He never knew his Naruto was so distraught about trust. Nobody showed him love.

"There was barely a day that would go by without some sort of attack on my well-being. I learned how to pick out the traitors to my life. I avoided people as much as I could. I'm always wary to get a friend." He blinked a wave of tears. "Sasuke...what you see when I'm in public is my mask. I'm a goofball to get people to leave me alone. Only Iruka-sensei knew my real self."

Sasuke tightened his grip on Naruto, who seemed to cave in to the touch willingly.

"Then there was you..." He took in a shaky breath. "I hated you so much when I met you. You had all the attention you needed and yet you just gave it the cold shoulder. I would do anything to have that attention that you got. When we were put on the same team, you were my rival. You were my opposite in everything we were. You had a family, I had none. You had great talent and great potential, I had none."

Sasuke closed his eyes and buried his face in the crook of Naruto's shoulder.

"But that day, when you confessed your love to me. I had never been happier...and confused. I didn't know what to do. You gave me the attention that I was seeking and I didn't know what to do. Trust..."

Sasuke spun Naruto around and kissed him furiously. He tensed then relaxed into the kiss. Sasuke opened his eyes and pulled away, seeing tears brimming those bright blue eyes. He gently kissed Naruto's eyelids, kissing those tears away. "Don't cry, Naruto. I can't bear to see you cry."

Naruto gasped, seeing that glow in Sasuke's eyes whenever he was truly meaningful about what he was saying. He saw how pained Sasuke was listening to his own painful past.

"I never knew why you always wore a mask around me when we were on missions or training with Sakura and Kakashi-sensei. I never knew..."

Naruto pulled away from him and back up deeper into the water until he was wading. "I want to trust you, Sasuke...I really do." He looked down. "But it's...so hard. When I've always looked behind my shoulder for so long, it's hard to see what's in front of me." He looked up and saw Sasuke wading in front of him. Those onyx eyes so clear and deep, he felt like he could lose himself in them. He felt a smile creeping up on his lips. Trust didn't seem so hard now with the way Sasuke was looking at him with bright loving eyes. "Sasuke..."

Sasuke hushed Naruto when he slammed his lips against the blond's. Naruto instantly relaxed under his lover's touch. Time seemed to freeze as Sasuke touched his body gently with all the love and passion he could muster. He was unaware when Sasuke moved them and they laid upon the grass, making out under the moonlight. Their touches always gentle. _'Trust...'_ Naruto thought, _'Maybe...I can trust...once again...'_

***end Flashback***

Sasuke looked across the room seeing Orochimaru, Kabuto, and a boy his age. He glared at Orochimaru. "You're late, Orochimaru."

Kabuto sneered, "Being rude again as always."

Orochimaru ignored him. "I'm sorry, Sasuke-kun, we seemed to have run into some problems back at the bridge." He smiled and placed a hand on Sai. "Oh, I want you to meet Sai, he's from the Leaf village too, maybe you two can remember good times." He chuckled.

Sasuke looked long and hard at the pasty fake-smiling boy in front of him. Then his smooth voice broke through his concentration. "So you're Uchiha Sasuke?"

"What of it?" Sasuke asked coldly.

"Naruto told me about you."

Sasuke tensed hearing that angel's name spoken on Sai's lips, his eyes widening for a split second. That split second was just long enough for Sai to catch the hint of sadness.

"He saw you as a brother," Sai continued. He saw that pain in Sasuke's red eyes again and it lingered a bit longer. Whatever mask this Uchiha was putting on always seemed to crumble a bit whenever Naruto was mentioned. He quickly dodged a kunai thrown at him.

"How can you know what Naruto saw me as when he's dead?" Sasuke asked as coldly as his wavering emotions would let him. He was standing, his pale skin holding an eerie glow from the fire near him. "Naruto is dead. I killed him. Don't try to tell me he's alive when he was killed by my own hand."

Sai was taken aback by the reaction he got. Orochimaru smirked, if Sasuke wanted to believe that, then who was he to tear down that image.

"Let's get through this training, Orochimaru," Sasuke muttered and he vanished into a puff of smoke.

***Stay With Me***

"What are you going to do, Naruto?" Yamato asked.

Naruto chuckled, pushing himself up slowly back to his feet. "I'm going with you." He swayed slightly. He had suspicion that he went four-tailed, but Sakura wasn't telling him everything. She told him that Orochimaru rendered him unconscious. He didn't believe that, but he wasn't going to question her.

"Alright," Yamato exclaimed, "But if you start to slow down, we'll leave you behind. Now let's go!"

Naruto smiled and ran after Yamato and Sakura. He felt fine for a while, he knew he was tired, but his body could take it. Suddenly, his vision became blurry and unfocused. He shook his head, closing his eyes only for a second.

"Naruto!" Sakura cried out.

Naruto opened his eyes and saw the tree he was going to hit, he reacted quickly, which helped him focus more and get rid of his headaches. He couldn't help but laugh at himself inside.

_'Don't hurt yourself now, Dobe.'_ Sasuke's voice echoed in the back of his mind, _'We'd be lost without you.'_

Naruto narrowed his eyes. _'Sasuke, I'm coming!'_

***Stay With Me***

"Naruto," Yamato muttered in a serious voice. He leaned closer to whisper into his ear, "The person who hurt Sakura...was you."

Naruto's eyes widened in horror. It wasn't for the fact that he hurt Sakura in Kyuubi mode...it was that painful memory of Sasuke.

_'Naruto! What are you doing? What's wrong? Snap out of it!' Sasuke's scream of pain strangled out into the night._

Naruto looked over at Sakura who was struggling with her arm and saw Sasuke clutching his bleeding arm in pain. _'Sasuke...'_

***Stay With Me***

Naruto looked down to the ground for a moment. When he looked back up, he registered the shock look on Sai's face when he smile. "I used to really hate Sasuke..." _'Even when we...loved each other. I still hated him. The way he would touch me would drive me insane. The kindness in his voice when we were alone always ached my heart.'_

"But it was actually fun...being with him." _'Despite all our fights before, he would always shine his rare smile and say those three words to me that would make everything better. He'd hold my hand when we were alone and whisper sweet words in my ear. My heart would always jump when he'd hug me. I'd lose my breath when he'd kiss me. Sasuke...was an...adventure.'_

"He's the person to acknowledge me more than anybody else." _'Always helping me when he noticed __something wrong. Always lending his hand when I needed it most. Always pulling me to my feet when I've fallen.'_

"It was a special bond I was finally able to make." _Somebody to see my pathetic tears and wipe them away. He was the one person who knew my weakness and never let them get in his way to be by my side. My anger was nothing to him and he could always stop my insanity. He was my fallen angel. He ignored the fact he had no family and focused all his attention on me.'_

Sai blinked. "Bonds...even though you have that bond...Orochimaru will tear you to pieces."

Naruto smirked. "I couldn't care less what he can do. If he chops my arms off, I'll kick him down. If he chops my legs off, I'll bite him. If he chops my head off, I'll stare him down. And if he gouges my eyes out I'll curse him in my grave." He looked up to the sky. "Even if he does chop me to pieces..." _'Sasuke-kun...I promise...' _"No matter what happens to me..." _'I promise you this one thing...'_ "I will bring Sasuke back with me."

***Stay with Me***

Naruto ran ahead with Sai trailing behind him, opening every door he came across only to find them empty. Every empty room he looked in, his heart clenched a bit tighter. Sasuke had to be close! He noticed Sai was watching him, more or less trying to read him. Naruto cursed at himself, realizing he's letting himself lose control of his emotions. He felt his legs getting heavier, his heart beating so hard and painfully. But his urge to find Sasuke was carrying him farther than he should be able to. He ran harder down the hall, unable to stop the few tears that were falling from his eyes.

"Sasuke!"

***Stay With Me***

Sasuke slowly opened his eyes. He thought he heard Naruto's voice calling his name in anguish. He stared into the blackness for a moment. He made a note in the back of his mind to kill that Sai character for bringing up painful memories, lying to him about his beloved Naruto being alive and looking for him. He slowly closed his eyes, unaware of a single tear escaping those black depths and falling upon his pillow.

***Stay With Me***

"A Bingo Book?" Naruto asked. He leaned on his good leg, nursing the twisted ankle from his fall earlier with Sai.

Yamato nodded. "This must be a set of assassination targets Sai was given." He flipped a few pages ahead and stopped, eyes widening in worry.

Naruto peered over the book and saw a very familiar picture...Sasuke...before he left the village. His eyes widened. "Wait...So this means...?"

"That Sai's original mission is not to be as a go-between with Orochimaru and Danzo..." Sakura stated, here eyes wide.

"He's to kill Sasuke." Yamato finished.

Naruto looked in the direction Sai had ran off too. "We can't stand here and chat. We must find and stop Sai and save Sasuke. We have to bring Sasuke back to the village."

***Stay With Me***

Sasuke heard the creak of his door opening in his deep sleep and slowly roused awake without moving. _'I was having a somewhat peaceful memory dream too! Who in their right mind would wake me up? I thought they knew that I'm angry when I'm awoken.'_ He felt the slight burst of chakra behind him and then it started moving. Tracking its movements, it was in the form of several snakes. He smirked at the irony. When the snakes were hovering behind him, ready to strike, he muttered, "What do you want?"

Sai's barely audible gasp registered in Sasuke's hearing, showing that he was shocked. "You found me out."

"Why are you here?" Sasuke asked firmly.

"I'm here..." Sai paused. Sasuke waited for the sentence to finish before he'd make his move. "I'm here to take you back to the Leaf village."

Sasuke decided to stay still. "Why?"

"I want to protect this bond you have with Naruto."

Sasuke tensed, clenching his fists. Again with Naruto. Why is everybody out to wreck him with more guilt and grief over what he did three years ago? Why couldn't they leave him alone? "Bonds..."

Sai didn't see him coming as Sasuke launched from the bed and pinned him to the wall, holding his shirt. "How many times do I have to say this? Naruto is dead! I killed him!" He grunted as he felt the snakes wrap themselves tightly around his body and squeezed. He struggled for only a moment...

***Stay With Me***

Naruto stumbled from the tremor that shook the whole hideout. "What was that?"

"Sai's chakra!" Yamato answered, "Something's wrong."

They ran harder, turning at every corner, following Yamato's lead of Sai's chakra. Naruto ignored the pain in his leg. Sasuke was so close! Three long years of following empty leads, and now it has come to this. They all froze, seeing the gaping hole at the end of the tunnel. Sakura was the first to move, seeing Sai in the center of the rubble.

"Sai!" she screamed, "How many times do you have to betray...?"

"Sakura," a smooth, very familiar voice echoed in the hall.

Naruto's eyes widened and he froze in place. That voice...the one he had heard so much in the past and in his dreams. His hands shook, his nerves were getting to him. _'Come on, Naruto! Move it! Run! Get __to Sasuke before you lose him again!'_ He bit his tongue and that sharp pain got his legs moving. He ran hard toward the light where he saw Sai and Sakura staring up at what he prayed was Sasuke. That same foot that he twisted earlier got caught up in a crack and he took another tumble to the ground. He shook from all the emotions and adrenaline that was pulsing through his veins. Sasuke was so close, he couldn't let a sprain get him down.

He forced himself up and ran with a limp. Pain was shooting up his leg, but he ignored it the best he could. The sunlight bathed his skin when he burst from the dark tunnel into the opening the explosion caused. He stumbled to a stop and looked up, squinting to get past the agonizingly bright sun. He saw the figure Sai and Sakura were looking at. The baggy clothes hid the figure, but Naruto grazed past the body and looked into the eyes of the man before them.

Those cool liquid onyx eyes that were now hardened...

Those calm eyes that always smiled at him when alone...

Those black eyes that once held his heart...

"S-Sasuke..."

***Stay With Me***

_Angel: OH MY GOD I'm so happy I managed to finish this chapter! Finally! I was watching the anime and practically jumping in my seat and forcing my vocal cords shut every time a scene with Sasuke appeared just before Episode 51 Reunion. In my opinion, I think my ending to the reunion was better than Kishimoto-sama's because I leave it hanging._

_But never mind that...wow, I thought this chapter would be like 4 or 5 pages...nope! It ended up being..._

_**drumroll**_

_EIGHT PAGES!_

_I hope you enjoyed this. I never knew that I would throw in that type of flashback when Naruto turned 4-tailed. I was just swimming after a long day of work at the Y when it started playing in my head. So there I was...wading in the deep end of the YMCA pool...playing a Yaoi scene in my head (and the occasional mutter). I think the lifeguard was looking at me like 'What the hell is going on with her?'_

_And in case you were wondering...yes Sai will get a grip of what's going on between our two angsty lovbirds **wink**_

_Until next time!_


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